Supernatural-ly Attractive

So, I can't help but notice that my blog has been severely lacking in pretty pictures lately. I have decided to remedy that with a post about my new favorite TV show: Supernatural.

Yes, it's a show on the CW and yes, it co-stars that kid who used to play Annoying Dean on the Gilmore Girls who is now the brother of a guy named Dean which is initially very confusing.

I started watching for a few reasons:
1- I had just moved home to MD and was desperately trying to avoid writing my paper.
2- My youngest sister loves the show, and I thought watching it together would be an excellent bonding experience for the two of us. It was.
3- This guy-


-the strangely named and beautifully made Jensen Ackles. While none of the pictures I have found for this blog quite do him justice, it is possible that this kid is the most beautiful male ever made by God or man.

While my youngest sister prefers his kid brother with the puppy dog eyes and lacrosse player hair-


- middle sister and I agree that Jensen Ackles a.k.a. Dean Winchester is so attractive that it sometimes hurts. It sometimes catches us by surprise. We're sitting there, following along with the storyline and then: "Whoa! That kid is attractive."

Anyway, it is this uber-attractiveness and the desire to bond that got me over my initial disgust and disinterest for a rather gory show probably aimed at teenagers that features two good-looking brothers hunting demons and ghosties. Somewhere along the line, I got hooked, and after yelping and clutching my way through this season's finale, I find myself anticipating this show's Fall return more than any other.

I still hide my eyes for some of the gorier parts; after all, gore is not my thing. But this is:


And that's my pretty picture quota for the day.

I Do So Much Sadness

...and by now, John Gallagher Jr. has just finished his very last performance as Moritz in Spring Awakening. Sigh. Tear.

Why I'm Watching The Tudors on Showtime...

Yes.

After the OK Go/Snow Patrol concert...

Reasons Damian Kulash might be my soulmate (despite the fact that wikipedia, holder of all knowledge, tells me he is married):
1. He graduated from Brown University (I wanted to attend Brown University for graduate school).
2. He is 7 years older than me (my Dad is 7 years older than my Mom).
3. He is built just the way I like 'em (tall, skinny, dark and messy hair, pale, soulful eyes...nose could be bigger, but is still a respectable size).
4. Umm...his name is Damian Kulash (self-explanatory).
5. He knows who Terrence Mann is (read an interview where he says Terrence Mann should play Annie in the next revival).
6. He has an obvious propensity towards paisley.
7. He used to work for NPR.
8. He is a fabulous rockstar with a fabulous voice. And he is funny.
9. He is NOT (thank god) a Virgo.


In other news...
It is perhaps possible to resist a cupcake. It is perhaps possible to even resist a Magnolia cupcake. It is in no way possible to resist a Magnolia chocolate cupcake with purple icing at 1AM when you have four hours of homework ahead of you. Mmmm...so delicious...

Spring Awakening: A Review. Of Sorts.

There is a currently an infomercial on my TV trying to sell me a be-dazzler (bedazzler? beadazzler?). I don't know what I think of that.

So, I went to see Spring Awakening (again) today. It is, officially, my favorite show currently on Broadway. Also, I have a gigantic school girl crush on one of the leads, John Gallagher Jr. (pictured below).

What is it about the show that I find so attractive? Not sure. There is, of course, the youthful attractiveness of the cast (have I mentioned John Gallagher Jr.): a friendly cast fully aware of how lucky they are, in love with the idea of having fans and being in a hip new musical, and normal enough to be starstruck when they heard Edward Norton was in the audience today. There is the music: the awesome score by Duncan Shiek (he of 'Barely Breathing' fame) and the beautiful lyrics of Steven Sater. All the ingredients of the show- cast, writing, staging, lighting- combine to create an exciting, near breath-taking experience. The energy in the theater is palpable. It's a beautiful thing.

But can I get behind the theme? Well, let's see...

A woman sitting behind me and my roommate, hearing us gush during intermission, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me? I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. How old are you? I can't tell."

Now, despite the way I feel about older adults being able to fling around the 'how old are you' question to younger adults without it being considered rude, I tried not to be offended. After all, I look younger than 24, and here I was practically salivating over the show, like a teeny bopper over pop stars.

Me: How old am I?

Lady: You're young, right? You're a kid?

Me: Well, I'm 24.
Lady: So, a kid.

This woman, who knows people who write for Broadway and, by default, everything else, wanted to discuss the appeal that Spring Awakening holds for young people. While said Lady is glad that Broadway is attracting a younger crowd with this musical (the line critics used about my age group and RENT is now being applied to a younger age group), she doesn't understand said attraction. She asked my roommate and I if we'd liked any other musicals we'd seen lately, her tone implying we couldn't possibly enjoy/understand Broadway, being so young. The answer: yes, everything except Grey Gardens. The unspoken answer: I've been enjoying Broadway shows (on tour, at least), since I was twelve. The Lady went on to explain to us (thanks, Lady) that the themes of Spring Awakening were irrelevant to our lives/age group/century/sexuality.

I discuss theme a lot, being a candidate for a higher degree in English Lit. In fact, I had to read some interpretation of Wedekind's original Spring Awakening for my Modern Drama class two weeks ago. I know how to discuss theme and meaning. And I told this woman that, to a generation trying to figure out society and our place in it, Spring Awakening is still very relevant. While sex is not discouraged in the same way as it was in late 19th century Germany, we still are instilled with a deep sense of shame where sex is concerned. We are in no way as sexually liberated as many of us would like to believe (a fact that was reinforced when this woman asked me if perhaps I suffered from 'too many options'). Also, sexuality is just one issue of personal freedom. Our personal freedoms are at stake every day. And, if anyone thinks we, the human race (or, hey, even we, the viewers of Broadway shows), are sexually free, they need only look at laws concerning homosexual marriage, schools that teach abstinence only, attempts to repeal Roe vs. Wade or any other pieces of scary, scary evidence to the contrary.

I was dismissed again and again. I was told that, really, I am just attracted to the loud rock music, extreme emotion, and pretty sparkily things (see below: John Gallagher Jr.).

And, I admit, those things...rock. Really rock. But, if you think the themes of an old German play can't resonate today, you don't know anything about the endurance of literature. That's all I'm saying.

That's right, you, lady. John Gallagher Jr. is pointing you out in a derogatory and insulting manner.

Anyway, this play coupled with Sondheim's Company, currently playing at the Barrymore, provides this lovely set of bookends of existential philosophy in a Broadway season that is mostly, though not all, fluff. How do we deal with the loneliness, the probable meaningless of life? Company suggests forming relationships so at least you needn't be entirely alone. Spring Awakening isn't sure what the cure is- but it starts with children and education. Not a bad theme at all.

Also, it's entertaining and full of cute boys.

Pieces of Web: Heath, Harry and Hemingway

what I enjoyed on the interweb today...

From my daily newsletter, The Writer's Almanac:
"The greatest gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind. It is a moral illumination." ~ Elizabeth Hardwick
"An intellectual is a person who has discovered something more interesting than sex." ~ Aldous Huxley

Heath Ledger will be playing the Joker in the next Batman (Begins) movie...can I handle Heath Ledger and Christian Bale in the same movie? Oh, the beauty! I hope Tom Cruise's child love slave skips this film (she is not yet listed in the cast on imdb.com). Also: how far from Jack Nicholson can the casting agents get?

What will the wine industry think of next? First they started making excellent wines with screw caps (which are much more reliable than cork). Now good wines are being put into boxes and jugs. Pretty soon, wine afficianados (or in my case, wanna-bes) won't have anything to be snobby about!

Grey's Anatomy spoilers(ish) discussed on TV Guide's Ask Ausiello here. Apparently, Patrick Dempsey is tired of McDreamy being so wishy-washy about his women, and Ellen Pompeo is boring. Also, the first episode takes place mere hours after last season's cliff-hanger. I can't wait! Over at Grey Matter, Shonda Rhimes has 1006 comments on her latest blog. If only I had that kind of following.

I wish I could have made it to NYC for this event: John Irving (genius) and Stephen King (blockbuster), acting as 'warm up bands' for JK Rowling (goddess). What I don't understand? How any fan- of the book OR movie- could possibly still think that Harry and Hermione are meant to end up together.

The many uses of myspace continue to multiply: the writers/show producers of America's Next Top Model are using myspace to promote their strike.

Discourse on the main 'curse' word of my childhood. No, I didn't cuss as a child (I still don't use foul language around my parents), but my mother would blanche and yell over the word 'sucks'.

And, just because Hemingway has been popping up so much in my blog lately- here's a bit about his cats. Hemingway's six-toed cats, named after celebrities such as Frank Sinatra and Pablo Picasso are a fixture at the writer's home in Key West. But for how long (cue ominous music)?

And a note from my personal emails: I will have Tivo in the new apartment. It doesn't get any better than that.

And we shall call her the Drama Queen of Queens...

I am moving to Astoria. I will be attending NYU.

Really, the entire tone of this blog is about to change. Or maybe just my entire life.

I've already got a place in the big city all lined up. With girls! I am going to be living with girls again: girls who I can drink wine with and giggle over attractive men with and critique my few glamorous outfits with.

Right now I'm watching Serenity alone, in my large, solitary basement room. I'll be living here for a few more months. And then everything will change. Things will be mostly opposite.

I can bring my cat. I can bring some of my books.

I am so very, very excited by all of this. I sort of wish it could start right now. Well, after the movie, at any rate.

Also, I love Nathan Fillion.

Oh, Jiffy Lube, thou silver-tongued devil.

The oil light started flicking on and off on my dashboard last week. Since I'm about one month and one thousand miles over the recommendation, this makes perfect sense.

So after work yesterday, I took my car into Jiffy Lube, for their signature service, and so they could vacuum up my corn chips.

All I wanted was the thirty-one dollar signature service. No frills. No engine clean-ups. Nothing. I tried to steel my mind against the Jiffy Lube guy who would undoubtedly come out of the garage into the less than cozy waiting room and inform me that rodents were living in my filters and hadn't I better get that fixed (this has actually happened before)?

Anyway, I'm sitting in the waiting room, trying to finish reading Kierkegaard's Sickness Unto Death (which deserves a post all of its own), when the service guy wanders out.

SG: Miss Yates?
I look up. I am the only person in the waiting room, as everyone else gets off work at five.
Me: Yes?
SG: Alright, we BLAH BLAH BLAH topped off all your fluids BLAH BLAH BLAH sludge in the oil BLAH BLAH BLAH clean engine.
The service guy is using props that I know I am supposed to believe are from my car. And sure enough, everything looks rather sludgy. I think to myself 'No! I will not give in. Just the signature service! Just the signature service!' Instead, I say...
Me: Well, how much would that all cost?
SG: BLAH BLAH BLAH twenty-four dollars BLAH BLAH BLAH fifty-seven.
Me: Oh, well I can't afford that right now. I guess I'll just have to get it done next time.
I think to myself 'Yes! Perfect excuse. Home free.'
SG: Are you sure? BLAH BLAH BLAH really important BLAH BLAH how your car runs BLAH BLAH BLAH only twenty-four dollars BLAH
Me: Fine.
Damn.
Me: But that's it.
SG: But if you just replace this valve BLAH BLAH BLAH entire engine BLAH BLAH.
I acknowledge to myself that I will never single handedly defeat the evil that is Jiffy Lube
Me: (resignedly) How much is that?
SG: Ten dollars.
Me: Fine.
Fine
SG: Thank you. It'll take about ten more minutes.
I return to Kierkegaard, feeling that Jiffy Lube and NOT despair, is the true 'sickness unto death'.

I think that perhaps, in the future, Jiffy Lube should be dealt with in the same manner as a creepy man in a bar.

"No, I cannot have a drink with you. My BOYFRIEND will be here any minute."

Me: No, I cannot buy that useless car procedure from you. My BOYFRIEND will be here any minute.
SG: (backing slowly towards the garage)Oh, well perhaps the BLAH BLAH BLAH can wait for next time, when you come in here totally alone.
Me: Perhaps. We will have to see.